1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a sound pickup assembly and more particularly to a novel pickup comprising a parabolic reflector pickup as well as a binaural sound pickup device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, to pick up sound, a single or a pair of microphones are attached to a microphone stand. In order to pick up sound from a distant source effectively, a parabolic reflector is often times employed so as to amplify the sound which is supplied to a microphone as its focal point. For example, a microphone in combination with a parabolic reflector is suitable for picking up sounds from animals or other distant sound sources.
It has also been known in the prior art to have a so-called dummy head stereophonic recording systems which use a dummy head with a pair of microphones placed adjacent the ear positions of such head. Such dummy heads are effective for reproducing sounds by means of particularly headphones. Thus, a listener with headphones can obtain the same effect as if he were in a concert hall and sound sources can be distinguished from nearly all directions and distances with such pickups.
The fundamental reason that the artificial or dummy head stereophonic sound devices are successful is that the sound pressure appearing at the external ears of a dummy head and which are recorded through microphones and then reproduced through a headphone gives very accurate reproduction especially through a two-microphone to ear phone system.
Most dummy heads used generally in the prior art are shaped to appear as a human head, however, when a dummy head simulates the human head very closely, an unpleasant effect is obtained by other persons in the concert hall who observe such dummy heads.
A stethoscope type stereophonic microphone assembly has been used for picking up binaural sound which has an arc-shaped resilient pipe with a microphone mounted at each end of the pipe and with ear mounting projections attached to the microphones for being inserted into the auditory canals of a user and with an output fed out from the center of the resilient pipe. With such an assembly the sound picked up directly at the user's ears has a characteristic which is different depending upon the particular individual ears. Also, when using such devices for a long period of time, the wearer becomes tired and the microphone attachments in his ear are painful. Futhermore, it is difficult for a person wearing such assembly to maintain his head absolutely still and thus the sound pickup will not have the optimum characteristic.